Artemis II was lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL, by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), and like other times that humanity has launched to visit our Moon, it produced a giant fireball and loud noise; however, what many might have missed is how the audible sound from the launch can be heard at approximately 5 to 10 miles away (depending on your location) and at approximately 10 miles away from the launch pad .
Eleven seconds after launch, Artemis II cleared the vehicle's largest hurdle, also known as "Maximum Q," (which is related to maximum turbulence or pressure and is experienced at the point at which a vehicle experiences the maximum wind load on the vehicle while being launched).
No further issues arose with the rocket after clearing Maximum Q, even after the SLS flew across the Atlantic Ocean and continued on into Lunar orbit, then out of visual view.
Thousands of NASA personnel who have spent several years preparing for this moment and have been waiting just as long (or longer) for this event to take place felt incredible relief because they did not have to wait months for a launch, and many were crying tears of joy while celebrating after having had to wait several months for a launch that was delayed due to various issues.
Approximately 60 minutes before the planned launch of Artemis II, controllers and Engineers were looking at the systems and found that they had concerns with the Abort System (the System that protects the crew in the event that the rocket experiences a problem during launch). The countdown held for approximately 10 minutes while the engineers worked to fix the issue, which resulted in a very tense atmosphere at the Kennedy Space Center.
Once again, everything began to clear, and all of the engineers breathed a sigh of relief. Launch Director Charlie Blackwell Thompson said the rocket was "Ready to Launch" and made history being the first female to hold this position. Reid Wiseman, the COMMANDER of Artemis II, summed-up the statement at the astronaut briefing today by stating, "WE GO FOR ALL HUMANITY!"
The RS-25 Engines and Boosters lit on the zero hour (0:00:00) of rocket launch producing nearly 8.8 million lbs of thrust and lifting off into the night sky.
Many view Artemis II not only as the first manned Lunar Launch since Apollo 17 landed on the Moon in 1970, but also as fulfilling the goal of sending humans to Mars for the first time and returning to the Moon to explore the Solar System again. Some moments of this day will live in infamy remembering John Glenn (first American in orbit around Earth) and Neil Armstrong's famous quote about Space Exploration being an achievable goal but a long-lasting dream.
The journey of Artemis II towards the Moon epitomizes the power of a shared vision combined with determination and innovation of what we can accomplish through our existence.
